A jury Wednesday decided on a death sentence for Eliseo Moreno, a lawn-mower repairman who killed a state trooper Oct. 11. The officer, Russell Lynn Boyd, was one of six people prosecutors said Mr. Moreno killed in a five-hour, 130-mile rampage touched off by estrangement from his wife, Blanca. Two of his in- laws in College Station and three elderly Hempstead residents were killed.
A man who killed a state trooper and five other people in a kidnapping and murder spree four years ago was executed early today after spurning efforts by others to save his life.
The condemned man, Eliseo Moreno, a former lawn mower repairman from Donna, Tex., was injected with lethal drugs at 12:12 A.M. and was pronounced dead at 12:19 A.M., said Attorney General Jim Mattox.
He was the second Texas inmate to be put to death this year and the 22nd to be executed in the state since it resumed the death penalty in 1982.
''I'd like to say I'm here because I'm guilty,'' Mr. Moreno said before the injection. ''I have no grudges or anything against nobody. The word of God tells me the ways of sin are death.
''I'm willing to pay according to the laws of Texas because I know I'm guilty.''
Mr. Moreno had told the judge who set his execution date that he wanted no appeals.
Mr. Moreno was sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Russell Lynn Boyd, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, on Oct. 11, 1983.
Trooper Boyd was the third of six people prosecutors said Mr. Moreno killed in the crime spree that started in College Station, Tex., with the slayings of his brother-in-law, Juan Garza, and Mr. Garza's wife, Esther.
The 25-year-old state trooper was shot to death after pulling over Mr. Moreno for a traffic violation near Hempstead. According to trial testimony, Trooper Boyd's bulletproof vest deflected two shots from Mr. Moreno's .357-caliber Magnum, but he was struck by four others, including a final shot to the head at close range while he lay wounded on the side of the road.
Also gunned down were Ann Bennatt, 70, a retired nurse in Hempstead; her sister, Allie Wilkins, 79, and her brother-in-law, James Bennatt, 62.
Another Hempstead family was abducted and forced to drive Mr. Moreno about 70 miles to Pasedena, where he freed them and abducted another man at gunpoint. Police finally halted him without incident at a roadblock in Wharton County.
Prosecutors said the rampage was set off by marital problems between Mr. Moreno and his estranged wife. The authorities suggested Mr. Moreno was on his way to the Rio Grande Valley to kill his wife when he was arrested.
Texan who killed 6 in 1993 is executed by lethal injection
The New York Times
March 5, 1987
Eliseo Moreno, convicted of killing six people in a 50-hour rampage, one of them a state trooper, was executed early today after he rejected all appeals.
''He was not afraid,'' said Attorney General Jim Mattox, who witnessed Mr. Moreno's death by lethal injection. In the death chamber, Mr. Maddox said, ''he jumped up on the table with a smile and said he was ready for the rocket to take off so he could finally go home - and he did.''
Mr. Moreno was the second inmate executed in the nation this year. Both death penalties were imposed in Texas, which leads all states with 22 executions since resuming use of the death penalty in 1982.
Mr. Moreno, 27 years old, a former lawn mower repairman, had instructed lawyers to take no action to save him. 'I'm Here Because I'm Guilty'
''I'd like to say I'm here because I'm guilty,'' he said in his final statement. ''I have no grudges or anything against nobody. The word of God tells me the wages of sin are death. I'm willing to pay according to the laws of Texas because I know I'm guilty.''
The injection began at 12:13 A.M. Mr. Moreno, who appeared happy and almost cheerful, gasped three times. He was pronounced dead six minutes later.
He was sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of Trooper Russell Lynn Boyd on Oct. 11, 1983. He also received 35- and 45-year prison terms for the five other slayings.
Prosecutors said the rampage had been set off by marital problems between Mr. Moreno, who suffered from a drinking problem, and his estranged wife. The authorities suggested that he was on his way to the Rio Grande Valley to kill his wife when he was arrested 160 miles from where the first slayings occurred. How the Slayings Began
The slayings began in College Station with the killings of Mr. Moreno's brother-in-law, Juan Garza, and Mr. Garza's wife, Esther.
Trooper Boyd, 25, was shot to death after stopping Mr. Moreno for a traffic violation near Hempstead.
A short time later in Hempstead, northwest of Houston, three other people were shot for no apparent reason. A family was then abducted and forced to drive Mr. Moreno about 70 miles to Pasadena, where he freed them and abducted another man at gunpoint. The police finally arrested him at a roadblock.